While cleaning up the Elefun game after deciding she didn't want to play anymore, and while Connor was starting to get into the butterflies, Izzy tells him, "Consadurations Connor but you can't play this anymore. I can teach you how to play baseball though!"

While visiting my sister-in-law's new house, Mikayla started screaming bloody murder. Nana asked, "Do you have a sliver?" Mikayla while still screaming and sobbing, "No, I have a stick under my skin!!"

We had wild rice casserole for dinner, and Izzy decided to play with it for some reason, making a huge mess and getting it all over her hands. This was her prayer at the end of dinner,"Dear God, thank you for my food, thank you for my family, thank you for my friends, and thank you for being messy! Amen"

Mikayla was writing a story on the computer, and we had just talked about semicolons, when she announced to me that, "I think if I have a boy when I grow up I'll name him Colon, that sounds like a good name." Upon further discussion she decided that perhaps Collin was a better name for a little boy.

Izzy, while playing with little Beauty and the Beast figures:"I can show you the ways of being a normal person. Pick berries, read, wash your hands a lot... "all said with a British accent.

I asked the kids what they like to dream about, Izzy answered,"Princesses.... Meat.... My family....."

Last night we were at my cousins' house and they had a very large family picture framed and hung on the wall. Mikayla looked at it and casually said, "They must have taken that picture with a really big camera."

Daycare Boy after ghost hunting: "I wish I had a pet dinosaur made out of mud!" Because clearly only mud dinosaurs would protect him.

Connor trying to say the word "helicopter":"Bobbicocker"

Izzy randomly asks,"Why did God give us a head?"

Connor heard the outer door getting blown open by the wind and, startled, asks "Who's coming?". Like the good mom I am I say very surprised like, "Monsters are coming" and continues to stare. So I say, "Robots are coming!" Very seriously Connor tells me,"How about Care bears are coming!"

On the way to gymnastics we played a game, here's an excerpt:

Me - "Something I want you to do, it starts with an F, ends with an S, and has a C in the middle"

Mikayla - "Frapaccinos!!!" (intended word was Focus)

Me - "Something I want you to have... I want you to have__"

Izzy - "Babies!!!!" (intended word was FUN!)

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Although it can be really messy, sensory tables or bins are great for preschoolers and toddlers, and fun for older kids too! Infants and young children learn by using all of their senses. You put something in front of a baby and what will the baby do? They will put it in their mouth, see how it tastes, how it feels in their mouth and hands, smell it, shake it and see if it makes noise!

This is why most preschools and day cares will employ some sort of sensory table/bin/box or other forms of sensory play. Sensory play can be found in sandboxes, pools and water buckets, walking barefoot in the grass, picking up snow with bare hands, crafts with ribbons, sand paper, pom poms, scented markers, cotton balls scented with essential oils or baking extracts, dry rice, bird seeds, pebbles or aquarium rocks, cooking, and when babies are involved - mouthing everything they can find! Obviously keep your child's age in mind when you plan what you will use so your little one doesn't eat something or choke. For little ones who still put everything in their mouth you can use edible things like finger painting with pudding, or playing with jello. There are tons of other things to use as well, google Sensory Play or Sensory Table Ideas.

I recently filled our small sensory bin with red and white beans. It was a huge hit! I provided measuring cups, small cups to scoop with and into, spoons, kitchen set toys, and little ladles.

They were able to practice scooping, pouring and transfer skills. They learned what happened when they filled a larger dish with beans and then tried to pour the contents into a smaller dish, and why that happened.

They made patterns and pictures with the beans, they counted beans, they made hand prints in the bin with the beans, and ran them through their hands and fingers. On day two of the bean bin we put the whole bin in the fridge for a couple hours and played with them cold for a new experience!

Sure I spent a lot of my time scooping beans back into the play area and bin, but the extra clean up is well worth the learning experience they had!

My Kids' Blog Nicknames

My 12 yr old (02)- Mikayla - Sweet Pea

My 8 yr old (06) - Isabelle (Izzy) - Babydoll

My 5 yr old (09)- Connor - Little Man

I USED TO HAVE A BRAIN

A blog about the projects, adventures, and antics that go along with having 3 kids, multiple daycare kids, my husband Spencer, a golden retriever, and a cat. I take care of my kids, I take care of my husband, I take care of our pets, I take care of the house, I take care of my daycare kids... and I enjoy coffee.